New York City

April 26, 2008

You don't have to go far to find great architectural photo subjects in Manhattan--all you have to do is look up. The Chrysler Building--easily one of the most photographed buildings in the world--shines above the east side of midtown Manhattan like a glowing steel tribute to Art Deco. The building is actually located on Lexington between 42nd and 43rd Streets, but you can see it for blocks and blocks and light and weather play some fantastic tricks with that view. I shot the bright sunny view here from 42nd Street in front of Grand Central. One of these days I'm going to train into the city and just shoot the Chrysler Building from a variety of different angles and see how many different shots I can come up with--a great self-assignment idea.

September 05, 2007

There's no place more exciting to be with a camera on a hot summer or Indian-summer night than Times Square in midtown Manhattan. I photographed this living Statue of Liberty on a hot July night when the Square was so jammed with tourists from all over the planet that you could barely move. But there's so much color and so much excitement that it's a great place to photograph. Just crank up the ISO as high as it goes (I shot this at ISO 800 with a flash) and use the "Night Landscape" mode if you have one. It's tough to use a tripod, but I don't worry that much about sharpness in situations like this--just shoot lots of color and use flash to photograph friends with colorful signs behind them and you'll love your photos. The crowds go down a bit in autumn, but on warm nights the place is still rocking until the wee hours. Pick a good position where you're out of the crowd and start shooting!